Vacuum-chamber seal for paper driers



May 14, 1929.

VACUUM Filed Nov. 1. 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet l x 7w 6 21 T w No 2 w fi u m. MM 5 2 am p2,...

gm 2 5 a o E 2 a v u o 4 2 6 :1 m u M o j!" n 6 E i a E m a o E E E y 1929 J. E. ALEXANDER 8 VACUUM CHAMBER SEAL FOR PAPER DRIERS Filed NOV. 1922 3 Sheets$heet 2 a der by r m May 14, 1929. J.XE.-ALEXANDER. I 1,713,485

VACUUM CHAMBER SEAL FOR PAPER DRIERS Filed Nov. 1/1922 3 Sheets-Shet 3 {1 7 ZlZ 4 571 5 3 l 6 55 a I I Ta 3W W -E5EES VE E1.E\

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Patented May. 14, 1929.

" UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

JOHN E. ALEXANDER, PORT EDWARDS, WISCONSIN, ASS IGNOR, .BY AS- ,SIGNMENTS, r0 mm'ron vacuum DRYER. CORPORATION, or onnnnwrcn; ca 1 NEoTIcUr, A-COBPORATION or DELAWARE.

VACUUM-CHAMBER SEAL FOR PAPER DRIERS.

Application filed November This invention relates more particularly to a paper making machine drier having a vacuum therein, maintained by improved sealing mechanisms positioned both at the points of ingress and egress of the web of wet paper or other material which is to be conducted through the drier to be dried.

It is an object of this invention to provide a vacuum drier with air-tight packing or sealing mechanisms at the points of entrance and discharge of a material to be dried.

It is also an object of this invention to provide. packing chambers at both ends of a paper drier, said chambers containin packing mechanisms and doctorsfiadapte to coact with rubber packing rolls, the trunnions or supporting shafts of which project through overlapping packing plates or disks on the shaft bearings adjacent the metal capped ends of said rolls.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a vacuum drier having packing housings at the ends thereof, each housing having contacting rolls supported therein between adjustable end walls, said rolls be ing contacted by suitable doctors and packing disks to allord sealed connections preventing the admission of air into the vacuum drier.

It is an important object of this invention to provide an improved type of paper drier wherein. a vacuum is maintained in the drying chamber by providing improved packing means to coact with contacting entrance and exit rollers disposed within the ingress and egress chambers at the ends of'the drier housing. f

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the specification andfthe accompanying drawings.

The invention'(in a preferred form) is illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter more fully described. T

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a paper drier providedwith'vacuum chamber seal-.

ing' means embodyingthe principles of this invention. 7

Figure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical section of the drier with parts shown in elevation.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sec- 1, 1922. Serial a... 598,260.

tion taken on line 3 3 of Figure 2 with Figure 6 is an enlarged detail section taken on line 66 of Figure 4.

line

Figure 7 is 'an enlarged detail section taken on line 77 of Figure '3. As shown on'the drawings:

The drier unit comprises a housing or casing 1 having an inner wall or lining 2 made of any suitable non-conducting material adapted to prevent the radiation of heat. The casing 1 is provided near the lower portion at one end with an inlet slot or opening 3, while the other end wall of the casing is provided with an outlet slot or opening 4 near the upper end of said end wall. Mounted upon the top of the casing 1 is an air suction pump 5 having a driving wheel 6 adapted to be rotated by means of a bel't'driven by a motor orany other source of power. The side walls of the casing 1 are provided with a plurality of air outlet openings 7'which lead into air exhaust pipes 8 fixed on the sides of the casing and communicating at their upper ends with a common main exhaust pipe 9 mounted on-top of the casing 1 and connected with the intake pipe 10 of the pump 5.

Mounted within the casing 1 are two vertical rows of rotatable rollers llaround which are trained a plurality of endless belts 12 made of wire or any other suitable material and adapted to convey a wet paper web or other material to be dried upwardly through thecasing in a circuitous path. The rollers 11 are adapted to be rotated by shown in my patent for a drier for paper making machines No. 1,330,366, dated February 10th, 1920: Also mounted within the casing 1 are a plurality of horizontal baflle plates 13 and 14 arranged as illustrated I in Fig. 2. Disposed within the casing 1 are upright'supporting bars 15- for supporting.

' any suitable means, as ,for example that the exterior of the casing 1. While electrical heating units are shown within the casing 1, steam coils or other heating means may be used if so desired.

Securely mounted on the entrance end of the casing 1 to enclose the opening 3 isa box or sealing housing 18 provided with side walls 19 and 19. The housing sidewalls 19 are movably positioned within the end housings 18 and are connected with the stationary housing end walls 19 by reach rods 64 having nuts threaded thereon to permit the slidable walls to be drawn toward or moved away fromtheistationary walls. The side walls 19 and 19 have opposite? disposed openings 20 therein for receiving nged plates 21 'which are integrally formed on the inner ends of upper bearing sleeves 22. Inte rally formed on the end walls19 and 19are ower bearing sleeves 23. Disposed within the housing 18 are two contacting rubber rolls 24 the ends of which project. into recesses provided in bearing sleeves 23. The bearing sleeves 22 and 23 are each provided with a packing ring in g ' inner plates or walls 25 secured to the inner faces of the housing side walls 19 and 19. .If desired, one of the rolls vmay be made of rubber and the other made of metal. The

rubber rolls24 have metal caps 65 fixed on the ends thereof within the recesses in'the contact between the rolls and the housing walls. The rolls 24 are supported on upper and lower shafts 26 and 27 respectively with the upper shaft 26 journalled in the adjustable upper bearing'sleeves 22, while the lower shaft 27 is journalled in the lower stationary or gasket'28 held' in place by an adjustable threaded retaining sleeve or thimble 29. En-

aged on the upper shaft 26 adjacent each end of the upper roll 24' is a large packing.

disk 30 seated'iwithin' a recess in the outer face of-the respective inner plate 25. Also disposed on each end. of the'uppersha-ft 26 to the outside of thelarge packing disk 30 is a smallerpacking disk 31 seated 'against the flianged plates 21. Engaged on each end of t e lower. roll 24 is asmall packing disk 32 dissposed in the plane of the upper packing disk 30 and engaged in a recess in the inner housing plate 25. A large packing disk 33 is also engaged .on each; end of the lower shaft 27 to the outside of the packing disk 32 and disposed in a recess in the inner face of the housing side wall 19 or 19 respectively. The

packing disks 30 and 33 overlap one another and with the packing disks 31 and 32 provide a sealed joint. As clearly showii in Figures 4 and 5,.a rectangular frame 34 of flexible packing material is secured to the outer face of each housing side wall and to the sleeve plate 21 by bolts 35 and retaining frames 36 and 37 which serve to hold the flexible paeking frame buckled to span the opening 20 beower shaft,27v adjacent the end of the tween the housing side wall 19 or 19*.and the bearing 23 w ile the upper end of the spring 7 is engaged by a'plate 40 adjustable by means of a screw 41 projecting through the upper bar of the frame 38. The springs 39 act to resiliently hold the upper roll 24 against the lower roll 24 and the buckled packing frame 34 permits adjustment or movement of said upper roll 24. At one side of the housing 18 intermeshin gears 42 arefixed on the shafts 26 and 2 while at the other side of the housing'18 the lower shaft 27 is provided with a belt driven pulley 43 adapted to be driven from any suitable source of power. A seal is provided between the rolls 24 and the housing 18 at the entrance wall 46 of the housing. The entrance wall of the housing 18 is provided with an opening 44 through which a pa er web 45 to be dried enters the drier unit etween the ingress rolls24. A

doctor is provided to lay evenly against each of the rolls 24 to insure against leakage-of air into the sealing housing 18. Each doctor comprises a beveled inner fiber plate 47 and an outer retaining fiber plate 48 between which a sheet of rubber 49 is clamped to afford a projecting flap 5O resting. against the peripheral surface of the respective roll 24. The sheet of rubber 49 is carried around the outer face of the housing wall 46 and is held in place by a retaining strip 51. The doctor illustrated in Figure 6, the doctors converge toward the meeting-line of the rolls 24 with the beveled ends of the fiber plates 47 and the rubber flaps 50 held in contact with the rolls. The suction action within the sealing housing 18 also acts to draw 'or hold the fiber plate'47 and the rubber flaps 50 in'engagemerit with the rolls.

Mounted upon the discharge end of the drier casing 1' to enclose the outlet opening 4 is a box or sealing housing 52 having egress rubber rolls 53 mounted therein on shafts 54. The bearings, packing and adjusting mechanisms for the roll shafts 54 are the same as The housing 52 is open at its outer end and is provided with sealing mechanisms for co-.

action'with the rubber rolls 53 to prevent leakage of air into the vacuum chamber in said housing 18. Each sealing mechanism comprises an inclined fiber doctor secured to the outer edge of the housing 52 and embracing an inner beveled fiber plate 55 and an outer beveled fiber plate 56 between which a sheetof rubber 57 is clamped. One margin of the rubber sheet 57 projects from between said plates 55 and 56 to form a flap or bead 58 adapted to press against its respective rubber roll 53. The beveled edges of the doctor plates 55 and 56 also hear a ainst the respective rolls 53. The beveled e ge of the inner plate 55 is provided with a groove 59 adapted to act as a drain groove for any I moisture which may find its way therein from the interior of the drier. Any moisture gathering in the groove 59 will act as a further seal to maintain the vacuum in the drier. To prevent the suction action in the sealing housing 52 from drawing the sealing doctor away from its respective roll an angle bar 60 is secured transversely in the housing 52 to the outside of the roll 53, as illustrated in Figure 7. Retaining bolts 61 are secured to the doctor and slidably project through apertures in the angle bar 60., Wing nuts 62 are adjustably engaged on the projecting ends of the bolts 61. Goiled springs 63 are engaged on the bolts 61 between the wing nuts 62 and the stationary an'gle bar 60 to resilientl hold the flapz58 and the beveled edges of the doctor plates pressed against the surface of the respective roll 53 to form an airtight seal against the suction action within the housing 52.

w The operation is as follows:

When a material, for example a wet paper a web 45, is to'be dried, the drier unit rollers 11 are'rotated by their driving means to ,cause rotation of the conveyor belts 12 within the casing- 1. The pump '5 is operatedby rotating the pulley 6 by any suitable driving mechanism and a' vacuum is "thus' produced within the casing land the housings 18 and 52 due to the suction action of the pump 5 which acts to draw the air from the drier chambers. The wet web is fed into the housing 18 between the rubber rolls 24 and.

then through the casing inlet opening 3 between the respective superimposed rotating.

belts 12. The belts 12 are so arranged that the paper web is conveyed upwardly through a circuitous path between the bafile plates 13 and the heater units 16 and then out of. the

- casing 1 through the upper opening 4. From the opening 4 the dried web or paper passes through the housing 52 between the egress rolls 53.

During the passage of the wet paper web through the machine the heaters 16 act to remove the moisture from the web and the steam resulting therefrom together with any air in the casing 1 and the housings 18 and 52 since the sealing housings are provided with packing and sealing elements which act to prevent the leakage of air into said housings and into the drying chamber of the casing 1 As illustrated in Figure 6, the rubber rolls 24 are so arranged that the springs 39 act to resiliently hold the upper roll 24 pressed against the lower roll '24 and permit the paper web 45 to pass between said rolls without permitting the leaka e of air into the housing 18. As shown in igure 4, th'e'shafts 26 and 27 of the ingress rolls-24 are provided with the staggered or overlapping disks or plates 30, 31, 32 and 33 and with the flexible packing 34 and the gaskets 28, all of which serve to thoroughly seal the housing against the admission of air. In a like manner the shafts 54 and rolls 53 are providedwith packing members so that no air is permitted to enter the housing 52. To further complete the seal in the housing 18, the doctors .4748 are provided which carry the rubber flaps 50 in such a way that said flaps 50, together with the beveled edges of the plates 47, press even- 1y on the rubber rolls and are held-in close contact with said rolls by the'suction action within the housing 18. At the discharge end of the machine the springs 63 act to hold the doctors so that the rubber flaps 58 and the 63 may be adjusted as desired. By adjusting A the screws 41 on the frames 38 the springs 39 may be further compressed or released as desired. The buckled packing frames 34 on the sides of the housings 18 and 52 permit adj ustment of the upper presserrolls with respect to the lower rolls. r

With the improved sealing mechanisms of this inyention positioned in the sealing housings 18 and 52 of the drier unit, a vacuum is adapted to be produced in the chamber of the drier casing 1 by the suction action of'the pump 5. The wet paper web or other material to be dried is thus conveyed through a. heated vacuum chamber and is dried before strip or ribbon of paper.

- If desired, one of each pair of the rolls in the ingress and egress housings may be rubber and the other metal, or both rolls may be made of rubber if so desired. 7 The adjustability of one of the housing side walls with respectrto the other by means of the reach bolts or rods 64 affords an arrangement whereby the .packing disks may be held in close contact with the metal end caps 65 on the rolls to improve the seal.

I am aware that numerous details of conit passes out between the sealing rolls 53 as a I struction may be varied through a wide range conducted, sealing means for said rolls, means for adjusting one of said rolls in eachhousing with respect to the other roll in said housing,

and resilient sealing means in each ofrsaid housings for coaction with the rolls therein to permit the vacuum to be maintained in said casing.

2. The combination with a heated vacuum drier, of a sealing housing fixed thereon, rolls in said housing, bearings therefor, means for sealing the bearings of said rolls, means for adjusting one of said rolls with respect to the other, and resilient means adapted .to be held in engagement with said rolls by the suction action in said housing.

3. The combination with a heated vacuum drier, of a sealing housing fixed thereon, rolls in said housing, bearings therefor, means for sealing the bearings, means for adjusting one of said rolls with respect to the other, resilient means contacting said rolls, and adjustable means for holding said resilient means in engagement with said rolls to maintain the vacuum'in said drier. I

4. The combination with a heated vacuum drier casing having'openingstherein, housings mounted on said casing to enclose said openings, bearings in said housings, shafts journalled therein, rolls on said shafts within said housings and contacting one another to form air tight seals, and a plurality of-packing disks of different diameter engaged on each end of each of said shafts adjacent the ends of the rolls and between the bearings and the housin s.

5. The combination with a heated vacuum drier casing having openings therein, housings secured to said casing to enclose said .openmgs, a pair of rolls in each of said housings contacting each other to form a seal therebetween, resilient means secured to said housings and contacting said rolls to form sealsbetween the housings and said rolls, shafts in said housings supporting said rolls, bearings for said shafts, packing means between said shafts and saidbearings, and a plurality of disks of different diameteron each of said shafts between said rolls and the housings, said disks so arranged that the larger disks on each shaft overlap the larger disks on an adjacent shaft in the same housg. x 6. The combination with a vacuum drier silient means acting on said adjustable bearings to hold the upper roll in sealing contact with said lower roll. a 7. The combination with a drier casing having an opening therein, of a housing secured to said casing to enclose the opening, a lower roll in said housing, stationary bearings on said housing for said lower roll, sealing means between said stationary bearings and said lower roll, an upper roll in said housin movable bearings for said upper roll, sea ing means between said movable bearings and said upper roll,.flexible means connecting said movable bearings with said housing to close the gap therebetween, adjustable means acting on said-movable bearings to hold the upper roll in sealing engagement with said .lower roll, and sealing means supported on the housing and contacting said rolls to afiord a seal between the housing and said rolls.

8. The combination with a paper'd'rier casing, of a sealing housing thereon having open- "ings therein, a shaft projecting through said openings and through said housing, a roll on said shaft within said housing, bearings for said shaft'projecting into said housingopenings, flexible sealing means secured to said housing and to said bearings to close the gap therebetween, sealing disks on said shaft between said bearings and said roll, and adjustable resilient means for adjusting said bearan s.

f). The combination with a paper drier casing, of a sealing housing thereon, stationary and movable bearings on said housing, rolls in said housing supported by said bearings, and buckled sealing means connected to said hosuing and to said movable bearings to close 1 ,in the housing, and flexible means clamped between each pair of plates with parts of said flexible means projecting to resiliently contact said rolls to provide a seal between said rolls and said housing. 1

12. The combination with a paper drier casing having an opening therein, a sealing housing on said casing enclosing-said opening, contacting resilient rolls in said housing adapted to admit a paper web into said ho'using' and casing to be dried. pairs of plates supwithin said housings and contacting one an- 1 other to form air-tight seals. metal caps on the ends of said rolls, and a plurality of packing disks engaged on each end of each of said shafts adjacent said caps and between the bearings and the housing.

14. The combination with a vacuum drier having openings therein, of sealing housings secured to said drier to enclose said openings, rolls supported by the side walls of said housing, one of the side walls in each housing being adustable with respect to the other side wall to permit close engagement between the housing side walls and the ends of said rolls, and sealing doctors supported in said housings to engage said rolls to permit the vacuum in the drier to be maintained.

.15. A drier comprising a casing, a sealing housing mounted thereon, an adjustable wall in said housing, rolls in said housing supported on a stationary wall'of said housing and on said adjustable wall, means for adjusting said adjustable wall to provide a seal between the ends of said rolls and the stationary wall and said adjustable wall, and doctors supported in said housingfrictionally contacting the peripheral surfaces of said rolls. 7

16. The combination with a drier casing, of a housing fixed thereon, contacting rolls in said housing, means connected with the casing for producing a vacuum in said casing and housing, and doctors supported by the housing adapted to beheld in frictional engagement with said rolls by the suction action produced in said casing and housing.

17. The combination with a vacuum drier housing, of a sealing doctor therein comprising a pair of plates, and a flexible sheet of ma terial clamped between said, plates and projecting therefrom.

18. The combination with a vacuum drier housing, of asealing doc-tor therein compris housing having openings therein, of bearing members'projecting into said openings, and buckled sealing means connected to said housing and to said bearing members.

21. The combination 'with a drier sealing housing having openings therein, of bearing members projecting into said openings, buckled sealing means connected to said housing and to said bearing members, and means for adjusting said bearing members.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

. JOHN E. ALEXANDER. 

